


Brothers of the League

by Write_No_Evil



Category: Batman and Robin (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood: Lost Days, Robin: Son of Batman (Comics), Under the Red Hood
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bat Bonding, Gen, Jason and Damian, Jason and Damian bonding, Slight Canon Divergence, batbros
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-05-31 19:52:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6485344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Write_No_Evil/pseuds/Write_No_Evil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason and Damian met each other in the League of Assassins. Damian befriends the shell of a boy, growing closer to him when Jason comes back after being thrown into the Lazarus Pit. Eventually, Jason leaves to get his revenge in Gotham and Damian leaves several years after to meet his father. Damian misses his "Jayjay" and though he wishes to meet him again, he does not think he will. So when the Red Hood pops up again? Damian decides to fight him, not knowing until several weeks and several fights later, that the man who has continuously managed to beat him is the same male he thinks of as an almost brother.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was dark. Damian should be sleeping so that tomorrow he would be fit and in a good condition to patrol otherwise his father would bench him. But he wasn't tired and so he laid there, looking up at the dark ceiling. He huffed and rolled over, reaching over to his bedside table and opened the middle drawer all the way. Sticking his hand into the space, he reached up towards the bottom of the top drawer and took the book that he had stuck there. Retrieving it, and closing the drawer, he sat it in front of him, resting it on the pillow his head was on. It was a copy of Pride and Prejudice. He flipped it open, eyes automatically going to the inside front cover, where the words were.

_Dami,_

_I'm sorry I'm leaving, I wish I could stay with you, but there are things I've got to do. I enjoyed my time with you and Talia, and I will always be grateful for what she has done for me. Keep training and getting strong, maybe we'll meet again._

_Love,_  
_Jayjay_

 _P.S. This is my favourite book, I've had it_ _since I was a child. It took a while for me to track it down but now I'm giving it to you. Read it whenever you're lonely or missing me and remember, I will always love you, no matter what._

Damian read the small paragraph, the words slurring together as he mumbled through it. Jayjay was his first ever friend. He knew that Jayjay wasn't his real name but couldn't recall what his full name was. He didn't even know his surname. Damian could vaguely remember him. Jayjay hadn't spoken or moved on his own free will, following the person in front of him. Still, he had picked Damian up whenever he had wanted, lifting him high. Damian had loved being in his arms, feeling safe and protected. Several times he had pretended to be hurt so that Jason would come and save him. It wasn't the easiest, Jayjay had been blind in one eye and the other had been badly damaged though he could see, even if it was blurred. Damian had used the assassins around the compound to aid him, making it look like they were attacking him. Jason would leap into action then, one hand scooping Damian up and into his side whilst the hand strangled the life out of the assassin. Talia had scolded him for doing it but let him continue doing it.

Jayjay had left for a while and Damian couldn't get an answer as to where he was. Talia wouldn't tell him anything. Before he could begin to miss his friend, Jayjay had come back. When he returned, he could speak and he chatted avidly to Damian. He had grown both in height and broadness, his shoulders wider than before. He was even stronger, easily able to raise Damian up above his head with one hand. He would come and go, travelling the world. Damian had thought he was learning the skills to become an assassin so he would stay with him but Jayjay had told him that he needed to get his revenge. Someone had wronged him and he had to pay. Damian had wanted to help him and managed to get Jayjay to train with him. Jayjay had a way with fighting, picking things up quickly and easily. Damian would have detested him for being able to learn the moves before him but Jayjay would then turn and help him learn it, giving him tips and pointers on where to put his feet, what side to lean, etc.

When Damian was skilled enough to spar with Jayjay, Jayjay beat him every single time. Jayjay had held back, but not by much, throwing Damian around and punching him with about 65% of his full power. Even not punching at full power, he was strong and his punches hurt. Although being beaten wasn't fun, training and sparring with Jayjay was. The bruises and aches that Damian had days afterwards reminded him of the fun he had had just days before. Jayjay had also begun teaching him new moves, ones that drew on his small stature and flexibility. When he had proudly shown his mother what he been taught, she had looked at Jayjay.

"Are you sure you want to teach him that, Jay?" 'Jay' was the nickname she had given to Jayjay. She had looked concerned.

"Yeah. I'm too big to use them now. I fight more like him, strong and relentless. Dami has the size to utilise them. If I can't use them, I should give them to someone who can." Talia had relented and Jayjay kept teaching Damian new moves. but he didn't explain to Damian what he had meant or who "he" was. It wasn't until an enemy had managed to breach their compound that Jayjay showed Damian what he could really do. Before the assassin could leap at Talia, and be killed by her, Jayjay threw himself at the killer and began to punch him. Talia swept Damian behind her and he watched from around her leg as Jayjay continued to pound the man below him. He looked up at Talia and she smiled down at him, running a hand through his soft hair.

"Do not fear him son. He will never hurt you. This is the strength and skill of a tiger." When Jayjay had finished punching the male, who had died several minutes into the onslaught, Damian had run up to Jayjay. He caught Damian lifting him up with hs forearm instead of his hand, careful to keep the blood off him.

"What was amazing Jayjay!" He exclaimed. With Jayjay, he could express himself however he wanted, without the coldness normally present in his voice.

"I can teach you how to kill a man by breaking his nose," Jayjay offered and had Damian enthusiastically agreed. Jayjay had carried him off to the prison camp, gathering a group of people to practise on.

Damian had been jealous of Jayjay in several ways. Unlike him, Jayjay didn't have an empire he would one day inherit to rule. Jayjay didn't have the pressure to become the best heir he could be. Jayjay walked with a small swagger and an air of confidence like he owned the entire compound even though he was neither an al Ghul nor an assassin of the League. Damian supposed it came with the knowledge and skills of being able to take down anyone who would dare attack him.

Unfortunately, the time came for Jayjay to leave the League of Assassins and Damian. Jayjay had given the book to Damian on his last night. He had ruffled Damian's hair in goodbye, nodded to Talia then had walked off to board the plane. Damian, allowing himself to feel sad, had pushed himself closer to his mother seeking comfort from her.

"Do not be sad my beloved son. Jay is sad at leaving too," Damian had looked slightly happy at that. "Keep training and one day, maybe you two will meet up."

A few years later and he too left the League of Assassins, to meet his father. It was only after the two had left that Talia had realised how much Jay had affected her son's life. He spoke sarcastically just like the older male, insulting people and making snarky comments almost all the time. Talia had smiled at how similar they were. Briefly, she wondered how Gotham, and Bruce, would cope with having two assassin sons living in the same city. Jay's mental state was chaotic, it was all over the place, sometimes he actively worked against Bruce, other times he would fight with him. She had wondered if it was still the Pit making him mad, or if another event in his life had made him crazy. His time with the Outlaws had calmed him and left him much more stable. They had split up, Arsenal and Red Hood working on missions every other month or so. Jay had begun living in Gotham again, patrolling parts of it. With one last sigh, she had left the building Damian and Bruce had met in and made her way to the jet that would take her back.


	2. Chapter 2

Damian woke up before his alarm, sending a smirk at it and turning it off before it could ring. He stealthily walked to the Cave, and moved to the training area. For two hours he went through the moves he had been taught, pratcising on the equipment. Once finished, he walked back up to the manor, where the rest of the occupants were beginning to stir. He showered and entered the kitchen to eat breakfast. He sat next to his father at the table. Dick trudged down after him, still sleepy from patrol. Alfred gave the two adult males coffee and let them tuck in. After eating, they all made their way to the Cave. Damian moved to the training mats to do some work on his hand to hand combat whilst Dick and Bruce worked on the computer. After a while, Damian stopped and watched them, the two talking in hushed tones. He walked over to them, wondering if they were talking about him.

"..He's popped back up. Hit Penguin's warehouses and made it look like it was Black Mask," Dick murmured. Damian looked at the screen. The profile picture was a person with a red helmet. It cut off at his shoulders, but Damian could see they were broad and muscular, probably like the rest of him

"Who is this man?" Damian asked. He had never seen him on patrol or when he had been on the computer. The two males looked at each before Dick answered him. He glared at Dick knowing something was going on.

"His name is the Red Hood. He's a sorta villain," Dick told him. Bruce looked at Dick then turned to Damian.

"How can he be a sort of villain?" Damian asked, not understanding.

"He's like an anti-hero. Sometimes he fights with us, sometimes he's the one we are fighting against." Bruce informed him. He picked up on Dick's reluctance to tell Damian it was Jason under the helmet, that he was a brother and son in the Wayne family and that he had died.

"Why would you work with the people you fight with?" Damian still was confused.

"He wants to do the right thing, he wants to save people," Dick began. He paused and sighed. "But instead of locking people up, he kills them."

"Is that not the best idea? It stops them from breaking out and hurting more people." Sometimes they forgot Damian had been raised by the League of Assassins. He still had their viewpoint.

"Dami! We don't kill!"

"Do not call me Dami, Grayson!" Damian snarled.

"Damian, we don't get to decide who lives and who dies," Bruce interjected. Damian stopped glaring at Dick and turned to the screen again.

"Why would you fight with and against the Batman?"

"Same reason Catwoman does i-" Dick stopped and grimaced. "Actually not really. But similar. Ja-Red Hood, you could say he's.. close to us."

"How close?"

"He knows our identities," Bruce told him. Damian's eyes widened.

"And you let him walk around with that knowledge?"

"It's not like anyone will take him seriously if he were to out us to the public." It would be almost impossible for him persuade the public that Bruce Wayne was the Batman when it was coming from a person who was supposed to be legally dead.

"It's complicated," Damian frowned at that.

"Why don't you lock him up?"

"We can't. He's good. Really good. The one time we did manage to lock him up, he escaped before we could get him to Arkham. He's managed to beat us several times in fights. He's extremely skilled. He was trained by the League-" Damian scoffed at this.

"There was no one in the League who went around with a bright red helmet and called himself the Red Hood."

"Maybe not then, but he has been trained. Maybe even from Talia." Damian snorted at Bruce's sentence.

"My mother has trained few people. She could count on one hand the number of people she has trained and wouldn't need all her fingers."

A notification opened on the computer before either one of them could question Damian on who she had trained.

"I have to go to work now." Bruce knelt in front of Damian, hands on his shoulders. "Damian, promise me,  _s_ _wear_ to me, you will not go after the Red Hood."

"Why?"

"That man is strong and has no qualms hurting people, including children," Bruce remembered what he did to Tim. "He's as dangerous as the Joker," Damian stilled, surprise on his young face. "Maybe more so. He can become crazy. That's when he fights against us. Stay away from him, even if he's in a good mood, he can turn violent quickly."

"I will try my best father."

"No. You won't _try_ , you _will_ stay away from him," Bruce looked Damian in the eyes, trying to convey his fear at Damian being injured. "Damian, please, as your father, stay away from him." Damian looked down and nodded. "Thank you." Bruce stood up and walked away, getting ready for work as Damian stared at him. His face hardened. He was going to show his father that he could take care of himself, he would bring in the Red Hood and make his father proud of him. Damian turned to the profile of the Red Hood, scanning everything that was on it.

"Don't you have work to do too, Grayson?" Damian asked, not bothering to take his eyes away from the screens in front of him. Dick sighed and walked away, leaving Damian to gather everything there was on the Red Hood.

* * *

Damian swung onto another roof, tucking into a roll to lessen the impact. He could hear Dick and Tim talking over the comms and sighed at their foolish conversation. Red Robin had joined Batman, Robin and Nightwing on patrol and Black Bat and Spoiler had shown up as well. Damian was on his own, Tim and Dick on a roof to the left of him. He pressed a button on his gauntlet and a holographic map appeared above his wrist. A red circle showed him where Red Hood was. He smirked and headed in that direction, using his assassin skills to leave the two other males without them noticing.

The red circle moved now and again, hopping from one roof to another. Damian wasn't sure if that was his precise location, he wasn't the best at the technology the Bats used but he wasn't going to ask Drake or anyone else to teach him. He reached where the holographic map said the Red Hood was, looking around to find him. A body slammed in from behind him, shoving him to the ground. His chin grazed the hard surface, the first layer of skin ripping off. Damian grunted and tried to buck the weight off of him but whoever was on top of him weighed a tonne.

"You gonna tell me why you've been tracking me?" The person holding him down asked.

"Hood?" He asked. The person laughed above him. Damian's skin broke out in goosebumps when he heard the laugh. It was similar to the Joker's, mocking but cold with no amusement in it.

"Yeah, that's me." Damian tried to twist out of his hold. In return, Hood grabbed his wrists from where he had restrained them on Damian's back and slammed his right wrist onto the roof, turning it so the bone hit the surface. Damian yelled out, pain running down his arm even though his wrist was covered in armour.

"You've upgraded your uniform, but there are always weaknesses. Such as that one." Hood's voice sounded distorted. He probably had a voice modifier in his helmet. Damian was too busy trying to work out how he knew about that weakness to think too much on it. Hood shifted and dug his knee into Damian's spine, putting most of his weight on the bone. Damian cried out again, curling to get him off. "Looks like the Bat gotta new sidekick," he leant closer to Damian's ear. Damian had had the foresight to put his hood up to protect his skull, but the material could easily be pulled back. "You know, he never learns. He keeps bringing more people into his war. He doesn't care if they get hurt."

"That is not true!" Damian yelled out, still struggling to get him off. He remembered the suit of the second Robin, in its case in the Cave. Personally, he thought it should be taken down, any signs of his father's failures should be hidden. The second Robin had been too weak to save himself and deserved to die. He was a failure and didn't deserve to carry the title of Robin. Damian stilled as he realised that he too was too weak to save himself. He wondered if he was going to die but redoubled his efforts. He was Batman's blood son and heir to the al Ghul Empire, he wasn't going to die here. Red Hood chuckled at him.

"How cute," he leant closer to Damian, the boy moving his head as far away as possible. "Then what about Stephanie? He let the Black Mask beat her almost to death. What about Barbara? He let the Joker shoot her and paralyse her."

Hood rolled over, taking Damian with him and flung him to the side. Damian hit the pavement hard but pushed himself up, glaring at the man in front of him.

"That is the last mistake you'll make."

"Sure." The Red Hood mocked him. Damian ran at him, jumping and aiming a punch at him. Hood caught his hand and threw him to the side again. Damian flipped and landed on his feet, jumping into a roly-poly along the floor and then spun on the ground with his leg out, trying to catch Hood's legs. Hood just stepped back out of the way. Damian carried the spin, his leg stuck out behind him. He jumped up and with the same leg, aimed a high kick at his enemy's chin. Hood casually leant his head back, Damian's foot passing just millimetres from his helmet.

Damian growled in frustration and began using the moves Jayjay had taught him years ago. He kept himself to the ground, aiming kicks to Hood, spinning and leaping. He succeeded in pushing him back but none of his attacks landed on him. All the while Hood taunted him. Damian stilled, panting slightly and glared at him from under his hood. Red Hood didn't seem to be at all affected by their fight, he hadn't done much just moved out of the way of Damian's attacks. He was good, Damian would give him that much, several times he had used a League of Assassin move. They were few and far between though so Damian wasn't sure if it was because he was trained by them or if he was copying a move he had seen.

Damain took a small break to think about why he had stayed on defence, analysing the male in front of him just like he had been taught. Maybe his offence wasn't as good? No, that wasn't right, Hood was decked out in all sorts of offensive weapons, an almost equal number of guns to blades. He could fight long distance and close. He was broad and muscular, years of training strengthing him. He had to be good at fighting.

"Why do you not fight me?" He growled.

"Aww, look at you, trying to sound like Batman. Lemme give some advice kid. Wait 'til your voice breaks." Damian snarled and threw several batarangs at him. Hood just deflected them, his arm sweeping them away from his chest. Damian couldn't help the surpirse that flashed on his face for a gew seconds. Very few had the skills or reflexes to catch them, let alone knock them out of the air in such a dismissove manner like Hood had. Not that they would have given him much damage, judging by how strong his armour looked.

"Well this has been fun and all... well not really but I think it's past your bedtime." Hood brought a hand up to the side of his helmet.

"Yo, Bats. Your latest Robin is tryin' to fight me on a roof. Come pick him up," he turned to find a noticeable landmark. "We're on the buildin' opposite of the Queen's." Damian straightened from his stance. He could hear Hood in his comm, which meant he had the frequency to them. Damian groaned as Bruce answered.

"Noted. On my way."

Hood walked backwards, not showing Damian his back. He was a smartass, but he wasn't going to lower his guard around him.

"Well, say hi to the old man. And by that I don't mean Bruce, I mean Alfred," Hood turned and fired his grappling gun and swung away in the space of a few seconds, too short a time for Damian, or anyone else, to try and attack him. Not like he was about to, too shocked at the fact that Hood also knew Alfred. Damian turned and waited for Batman to arrive, glaring at the neon sign in front of him. Bruce wasn't going to be happy.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~There's cursing in this one, at the end~

Bruce didn't say anything as he drove Damian back to the cave. Damian sat next to him, his arms crossed over his chest as he glared out of the window. The Batmobile skidded to a halt in the cave and Bruce jumped out of the car. Damian followed him, getting out of the car and walking towards the computer.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Bruce turned to look at him, glaring at Damian. Damian tried not to curl in on himself.

"What do you want me to say?" Bruce growled. "You said you weren't going to go after Hood." Damian had the decency to look away. "If you can't keep your word, how can I trust you on patrol? You're benched for a month."

"What!? That is not fair!" Bruce silenced him with a look. Damian snarled and stormed off. Alfred joined him, helping him take his Robin outfit off and clean it without saying a word.

"Master Bruce is not the best at expressing his concerns, Master Damian, but your father wants to keep you safe," Alfred spoke to Damian. Damian glared at the wall in front of him as Alfred began to look over his injuries. All he had were bruises. He was angry at Bruce for benching him, but he was angry at the Red Hood too for being able to so easily dodge him. And he was also angry at himself for not being able to land a single hit on him.

"Master Damian, the Red Hood is a very dangerous man. You put yourself in danger trying to take him down, especially without backup and telling no-one of your plans. Had you been badly injured, we may not have been able to find you in time."

"Hood didn't try and hurt me at all. He stayed on defence the entire time," Damian grumbled out. Alfred rose his eyebrow at the new information. He made a mental note to tell Bruce about it. Maybe Jason's mental state was stabilising again.

"He is a very dangerous man. His mental health is... not stable. He can easily turn on us. He has hurt Master Timothy once before. Master Bruce was worried that you were hurt too."

"I am not going to be hurt like that imbecile, I am the son of Batman and have been trained by the League of Assassins. It will take more than that to bring me down."

"And yet, even with all your skills, your attacks failed to reach the Red Hood." Damian flushed at that.

"I don't understand. You say his mental state is, and I quote 'unstable' but you don't put him in Arkham. Why do you work with him?"

"Master Bruce and the Red Hood have a... complicated relationship. Your father wishes to help the Red Hood, but his efforts are always pushed away. Master Bruce, as do the rest of us, care deeply for the Red Hood but he does not seem to believe us when we tell him that." Damian jumped from the medical bed.

"But why do you care for a criminal? There is something you are not telling me!" Damian yelled at the butler.

"It is not my place to tell you," Alfred looked over to Bruce, sitting in front of the computer and listening in on their conversation. "I am not sure if it is anyone's place, including Master Bruce's, to tell you about the Red Hood, other than the Red Hood." Damian stormed off to his room, angry at everyone avoiding telling him what he wanted to know.

In his room, he began to punch the air, hitting and kicking an invisible enemy. He wished Jayjay was there with him, he would have been able to calm him down, either by talking to him or sparring with him. Damian stilled, breath laboured as he looked at his bedside. He walked over to it and took the book out of it. He sat on the bed and began to read it, the book -and the memories connected to it- calming him down.

* * *

His alarm clock woke him up. He startled awake at the noise. It was the first time it had woken him. He slammed it off and got out of bed. The small boy went outside and began to train, not wanting to see his father whilst he trained in the cave. He had wanted to make his father proud and he had just disappointed him. Damian cursed the Red Hood for making him look so foolishly. Next time he saw him, he was going to kill him.

He went in for breakfast. Thankfully his father wasn't there. Dick however, was already sitting there. He seemed to perk up when he saw Damian sit at the table.

"Dami!"

"Do not call me that, Grayson."

"Are you okay? I heard you went after Ja- Red Hood." Damian furrowed his eyebrows as Grayson once again slipped up and said "Jay" before seemingly correcting himself and saying "Red Hood". It was confusing, especially since Damian hadn't uncovered anything with "Jay" that was connected to Hood.

"I am perfectly capable of handling myself." And not because Hood didn't try and attack him.

"Why did you go after him, though? He's dangerous." Dick looked worried. Damain ground his teeth together at the open display of emotion. 

"I could have taken him down."

"He's good Damian, really good. He can go toe to toe with Bruce. Bruce has won two, maybe three more of their fights than Hood has," Dick told the younger boy sitting opposite to him, trying to stress how dangerous the Red Hood was.  
  
"Father seems close to Hood, he's obviously going easy on him every time they fight."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you. Red Hood is more than capable of making Bruce fight him at full strength. He's beaten him more times in combat than probably any other criminal in Gotham." Damian didn't say anything, eating his food with a glare. Dick left after a while, needing to go work as a police officer. Damian stood up and moved to leave.

"May I inquire as to where you are going?" Alfred asked as he pulled his shoes on.

"Has my father ordered you to know my whereabouts at all times?" Damian snarled.

"No. I was asking only so I would know when I should expect you back, as well as where you are if you require a pickup."

"I am going out. I will not require a pickup and expect me back by midday." Damian walked out and took a motorbike, not caring that he was too young to legally drive it. Before Alfred could stop him, he was roaring down the long driveway.

* * *

He reached the Belltower within ten minutes. The dark haired boy parked the bike around the corner and knocked on the door. A few minutes later and the door opened. Barbara looked at him from her wheelchair.

"Can I help you Damian?" She asked.

"May I come in?" Damian mumbled, trying to be polite. Barbara smiled a little at him but let him in. She moved to the elevator, Damian standing next to her.

"What can I help you with?" She asked as the elevator brought them to the top where all her technology was stashed. The doors opened and she moved to sit in front of her computer screens, checking the progress of a search.

"I.. I was wondering.." Damian looked at the ground, in a moment of uncertainty. That made Barbara interested. What had made him so unsure?

"Yeah?" She knew about his little stunt yesterday. She had been too into the conversation with Dick, Tim and Stephanie that she hadn't detected Damian's disappearance until Batman had asked her about his whereabouts. His retreat had put them all on edge and she hurriedly searched the city via cameras, trying to locate him.

She had found him fighting the Red Hood on a building. It seemed like the fight had been going on for awhile, judging by Damian's panting and the sweat on his forehead. She had notified Bruce straight away, telling him to get there, with a hint of panic in her voice, before Jason did something to harm the small boy. She had watched the taller male block several more of Robin's attacks and then reached up. For a few heart dropping seconds, she had thought he was going for the guns he had placed on his back, just below his neck- which made it easy for him to grab a gun when a cop, or member of the family, told him to put his hands behind his head- looking like he was about to shoot the child at point blank range. Instead, he had touched the side of his helmet and had called Bruce, telling him to take Robin away. It had shocked everyone and for a long while afterwards, whilst Bruce was taking Damian back, they had debated if his sanity was returning.  
  
"Who is the Red Hood? No one has answered my question. You fight him but care for him. Alfred said you lot love him but he doesn't believe you. How can you people love him? What happened to make him close?" Barbara wasn't sure if she should be the one to tell him about Jason. If Bruce hadn't told him, there was probably a valid reason. But maybe with the information he wouldn't go after Jason again. She sighed and pulled up her profile on the Red Hood.

"His name is Jason Todd. He was the second Robin," Barbara began, telling Damian everything about Jason, his beating, death and revival. "We believe he was thrown in the Lazarus Pit to regain his mental abilities but it left him, well insane." Damian moved closer to the screens, looking at the picture of the Red Hood on the screen. Barbara suddenly had a thought. "Damian, do you know the people who have been in the Pit? We could find them again, see how they're doing, how long they were insane and what they did to get better. We could possibly do that to Jason. Do you know how the Pit effects people?" An unbidden thought of Jayjay rose to his Damian's mind. He had been a shell of a human but came back after a while, almost a different person completely. The Lazarus Pit seemed to have the powers to do that.

"No. My mother made sure I was kept away from the Pit. But you are correct, it makes people insane." He scanned over her profile of Red Hood. "What does he look like under the helmet?"

"Unfortunately even I can't find a picture of his face. I think Bruce and Dick have seen him under the red hood but they don't like talking about it."

"What did he look like before ... he died? When he was Robin?" Barbara smiled at him and went to pull up pictures of Jason as Robin. Her phone rung before she could though.

"Hello, this is Barbara. Who's speaking?"

"Is Damian with you?" Bruce asked. She sighed and turned to look at the pre-teen next to her. Seemed he snuck out without Bruce's permission. That was such a Robin thing.

"Yeah."

"Tell him Alfred's waiting for him outside." Bruce hung up. She huffed and turned to relay the message but Damian was already gone. 

* * *

Jason got back to his safe house without any of the Bats getting in his way. So Bruce had a new Robin? Jason smirked and wondered how long he would last. He seemed like a good fighter but he used moves from the League of Assassins. Jason had trained with them long enough to know most of their standard moves as well as the less standard ones. And he had trained with Talia to such an extent he had become used to her moves. Whoever the new Robin was, he definitely had ties with the League and to Talia. He had also been trained by Bruce, judging by the moves that were undoubtedly a Robin's. That puzzled him, he was sure Bruce hadn't adopted an orphan in the last six months, the time it took for any Robin to be trained. In fact, there hadn't been anything in the grapevine that he was thinking about recruiting a new Robin.

"Guess the Replacement finally fucked up." He stared out of the bulletproof glass, looking at the city at night. He had to admit, Gotham was beautiful in its own right.

Another thing that troubled Jason was the moves the new Robin had used. They were his. He had practised enough times when he was Robin in front of mirrors or watched videos of himself fighting- to analyse his techniques and see where he was going wrong- to recognise them. The new Robin didn't fight with the Replacement's moves or had Goldie's unnecessary flips. He fought efficiently, deadly and brutally, just like Jason had. Why would Bruce show the new Robin clips of him fighting? He was the screwup, the failure. He should have been taught the moves of the two who hadn't died.

Jason's reflection looked back at him in the window. He could see his green eyes were beginning to glow eerily again, just like the Lazarus Pit. The sclera was no longer the colour of snow instead they were an off white, a hint of green in them. The madness that the Pit had given him was beginning to return, fueling his anger. Absently, he traced the scar on his neck, a smile spreading across his lips. His dry lips cracked, a trickle of blood dribbling down his chin as he grinned manically. He was going to have so much fun with this new Robin.


	4. Chapter 4

Damian stayed off patrol for a month, taking the punishment his father had given him. He took his anger out on the training dolls, wrecking hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. Whenever Bruce was on patrol he would be in the cave, in front of the computer helping his father in any way from hacking into the cameras or notifying him on another crime report. Several times he had clicked on Jason's file, only to find it, much his surprise, with more security than Nightwing's, Oracle's, the Batgirls' or the Robin before him's files. He tried to bypass them a few times but he had to admit, begrudgingly, that they were good. It would take him an hour or more to crack them. He didn't in the end, knowing his father would only find out about it and bench him for another month.

The first three weeks he was on patrol again, he didn't once think about the Red Hood or his revenge on him. It was only after they got called out to a warehouse to stop a drug deal about to go down that he thought about the Red Hood. It was a dangerously addictive drug and Bruce wanted to stop it from getting into the streets of Gotham. By the time they got there though, everyone was dead.

"Who did this?" Damian asked as he moved along the bodies. Batman bent down, feeling the necks of the bodies, trying to find any survivors.

"They're cooling and their lips are purple. They've been dead for around ten minutes. Whoever did this isn't too far away."

"Are we going after them?" Batman looked around the building they were in, looking into the darker corners and changing the lenses in his eyes. He spotted what he wanted.

"There are cameras around. We'll split up to find the control room and see what happened."

"Any ideas on who did it?"

"It's a drugs bust so it could be motivation enough for the Red Hood to come and stop it. The bullet holes are in places that Jason tends to aim for and the bullets seem to fit the guns he carries," Batman looked at his son. "Be careful."

Robin turned and stalked off, changing the lenses in his mask to help him see in the dark. He began his search for the control room and walked up the metal stairs onto the second floor. The metal path that ran around the box of what he assumed was the control room was rusty and Damian made sure to keep his feet light and ready to jump if it collapsed under his weight. It held strong and Damian moved to the door. He surveyed the empty room then glanced around behind him. When nothing caught his eye, he walked in.

"Batman, I'm in the control room."

"Same. There appears to be more than one. Try and find the scene from the camera feed on the computers."

The computers were already on, saving Damian from having to hack into them. He stood behind them and began searching for the camera feed. A few moments later and he found the most recent footage recordings. He sped through them until he came to the fight scene. The men fell down and it was almost five minutes in before the assailant showed himself, a flash of a leg in the bottom corner. Seven minutes passed before the camera caught a full but blurred picture of him and it wasn't until the fight had ended that the camera got a good visual on him.

"You were correct father, Hood killed those men." The skin on his neck tingled- he was being watched. Damian looked up at the mirror above the computers, trying to spot a reflection.

"You're good, not many can sneak up on me." No one replied and for a second Damian doubted himself. Still, his hands inched to his belt.

"Hmmm... I was trained by the best." The Red Hood emerged from the shadows around the entrance, in a similar way to Batman. Damian turned to him, body in a battle ready stance.

"You should relax. Posture like that may make me want to fight you." Damian didn't rise to the bait. He had watched his fight with the Hood over and over again until it was ingrained into his memory. Last time he had let Jason's taunts get to him, rile him up, and he made reckless moves. Watching the footage in every angle he could, showed just how well trained the Hood was, he moved with confidence and ease like he had practised the moves over and over and over. Jason was taller, heavier and had more experience than Damian- the young boy was at a severe disadvantage. He jumped back, onto the control panel to try and gain a bit more height.

"Tut tut, that's not how you should treat technology." Damian looked at the male in front of him, scanning his entire body. Red Hood had more weapons than him and Damian knew he could use them all with deadly force. His body language wasn't as relaxed as their last encounter, it looked like he would actually participate in the fight.

"Checking me out? Sorry, but you're a little too young for me." Damian growled at him, anger boiling at his provocative remarks.

"I was wondering where I should put your helmet. On my shelf in my room as a trophy or in your memorial case."

"Oh oh, cut out Joker's face in that massive Joker card you have in the cave and put it there instead!" Damian froze at that. The card was put there after Jason had died. How did he know it was there?

"Cat got your tongue? No one wonder B benched you, Robins are always supposed to have a witty remark to say." Damian snarled and jumped at him, kicking his leg at him. Hood caught it and threw him into the wall, jumping after him and slammed his knee into Damian's chest, shoving Damian back into the wall. His head hit the wall, his thin hood doing little to protect him.

"I wonder how long you'll last." Damian's palm hit Hodd's collar bone and managed to push him away. With the ease of it Damian knew Todd had let him do it.

"Unlike you, I will not die. I am the son of Batman and am a better Robin than all of you put together. Last time I went easy on you. This time, you will be begging me to stop." Damian growled out.

"Kinda funny, I wasn't even holding back last time. I mean you can't really hold back when you're doing nothing, right?" Damian's hands crept to the part of his belt that held the explosives. "I wouldn't do that. You make a loud enough noise daddy's gonna come running in. And what will he see? You fighting me again, even after he told you not to. You'll be benched for.. I dunno... two months? Three months? Can you handle that? Watching them all run around the city, beating up bad guys whilst you're sat at home?" Hood's knowledge of his uniform, from the outfit to his belt surprised Damian. He was wearing a different outfit to Jason's days as Robin but the man was always one step ahead of him.

Damian charged at him again, throwing his fist out towards Jason. Jason's left forearm shielded his face from the blow and pushed Damian's hand away. As his right hand was forced away, Damian brought his left up, aiming a hit to Jason's ribs. Jason's right hand swooped down, hand grabbing his wrist in a tight grip. He jerked Damian forward, turning with him so he faced Damian's side and brought his knee up, hitting Damian in the middle of his ribs. Damian grunted at the impact and fell to the ground, Jason releasing him. Damian rolled in the air and landed on his back. He reached up and grabbed the belt around Jason's hip, tugging him down and kicking him over his head. Damian grimaced at how much Jason weighed, he had to be a lot warier around the male. From the fights he had seen the Red Hood engaged in he had a strong punch, strong enough to wind Batman and put him down for a short while.

Jason rolled on the floor a few times and got back up, not looking or feeling affected by the throw.

"The Monkey Dive huh? Impressed you managed to kick my weight over you."

"I don't want your praise. Not from a criminal."

"Nawww, you're breaking my heart. But then again, daddy never says 'I'm proud of you' or 'good work Robin'. Not to people like us."

"Shut up!"

"It's true. We kill. Batman doesn't kill, hates killers. The other two, Goldie and Replacement, they're his favourites. Goldie 'cos well he's Goldie. Never could do anything wrong in his eyes. And Timmy, the detective. He's clever, can work with B easily. Can keep up with his amazing brain. Us, though? We're just fighters. Batman can already fight, he doesn't need us."

"Shut UP!" Damian threw himself at Hood, throwing punch and kick after punch and kick, Jason perfectly deflecting them. Damian spun on his heel, gathering speed to kick Jason in the side. Jason's caught his leg, caging it to his side and stopping Damian from moving away. He punched Damian in the chest and kicked his remaining foot out from him, forcing Damian down. He fell, catching himself on his shoulders, his leg up in the air still stuck in between Jason's inner left arm and ribs. Jason kicked both his legs up so he fell onto Damian, his large frame hitting all of him. The breath was knocked out of Damian again as over two hundred pounds fell onto him. Bruce had made Damian spar with him, Cass and Dick. They had told him over and over to tap out of any takedowns. He didn't do it often, knowing ways to get out of them. Over time though, he had begun to tap out of more holds, doing it with Bruce and Dick because he felt more relaxed in their presence and Cass because he couldn't get out Cass' no matter how hard he tried. So used to sparring and tapping out, as well as the pain forcing his body to bend, he instinctively began hitting the floor. What he hadn't expected was for Jason to release his leg and roll off of him. He stayed there stunned for a second before his League training took over. He rolled into a handstand and then dropped his legs back onto the floor, completing the walkover and stood up.

His ears were ringing and he felt slightly dizzy. The familiar feeling of blood dripping from his forehead told him he had been cut. Jason had drawn first blood. Damian growled at that, baring his teeth at the man standing in front of him. He slid his tongue along his front teeth, something he did whenever he was in a fight and was thinking of his next move. It allowed him to check if his gums were bleeding and the familiar motion calmed him down a bit. It was a habit that he had gotten off Jayjay after watching him do it countless timeswwhen they had sparred.

The action seemed to shock the male in front of him and Damian used his stillness to launch another barrage of punches. This time, more of them landed; Jason being slower to defend himself. Damian jumper and grabbed the material on either side of Jason's neck, about to throw him over his shoulder. Jason's hands came up and knocked his hands off him. One of Jason's hand crept around his waist, grabbing his belt as the other grasped his right arm and flung him to the floor again like a stack of potatoes. He kept ahold of his arm, tugging it up and then falling on Damian again, in an armbar. Damian's limbs flew up at the pain and his palm hit the floor as his arm fell back down. Jason let go of him then, rolling backwards and crouching. Damian rolled over, getting to his hands and knees and pushed himself up, rubbing his chest which was beginning to ache from all the blows. Damian took out two batarangs and clenched them in his fists. They were sharp, more than sharp enough to cut through the material covering Jason's neck.

"Oohh, getting the weapons out are we?" Jason stood up and flicked his hand, spinning the sai around his finger. Damian's masked eyes widened as his hand reached out to the back of his belt, fingers looking for the weapon he had placed there. His cape had hidden it enough that Batman hadn't spotted it when they had left. Jason brought it up to look at, the blades reflecting the light.

"Arabic? Lemme see, 'Bleed them..dry'," Damian shouldn't have been surprised he could speak Arabic. The words were printed on the long blade, the two smaller blades on both sides of the longer one were plain. "Hmm... this looks like it's Chesire's."

"How do you know her?"

"She taught me how to kill. B didn't, so I had to learn somewhere else. It makes me think, if he had taught me, maybe I wouldn't have died?"

"You still would have died. You're weak Todd. A failure. You deserved to die, after tarnishing Batman's reputation." The air changed around the Red Hood. He turned his head slowly to stare at Damian. Damian realised he may have just said the wrong thing. Hood drew himself up to his full height, suddenly looking much more menacing. Jason flicked his wrist, throwing the weapon at Damian with such strength that the speed of it flying towards Damian had him barely defending against it. The blade sunk into the wooden wall instead of his head. Before Damian had the chance to prepare himself, Jason leapt at him. A punch to the nose had the bone breaking, blood spurting out as Damian's head reeled back. The side of Jason's palm came down on his collar bone, breaking it and making Damian yell. Before the sound could get too loud and alert Bruce, the side of his palm snapped into his neck, forcing the breath from his mouth. He got another hit into his ribs, hearing it crack.

"You think he cares about us? He doesn't. He will let his enemy beat you to death for five hours and then finally put you out of your pain by a bomb. He'll let your murderer roam the streets, continuing to kill people and he won't put him down. Robin doesn't mean anything to him. If it did, he would have put that sick sonnuva bitch down. But no, he lets him live and others die." Jason tackled him down onto the hard ground, this time putting all his weight on Damian. "He won't come for you. He will always be too late. You'll die thinking he's about to save you. You'll die with an apology on your lips, for not being enough when it wasn't your fault you died. He. Will. Let. Your. Killer. Walk. Free. And when you finally confront him about? He'll pick the criminal's side. He'll throw a batarang into your neck to stop you from getting your revenge."

Damian struggled under the Red Hood. Jason tugged the material that protected his neck aside, showing the scar that ran along his neck. It was thin and long, just like a slash from a batarang. His voiced had changed, it had an edge of madness in it and Damian felt fear creep into his system. Jason wasn't going to kill him... Was he? The Red Hood pulled out a knife from his boot and Damian's eyes widened as he took in the sharp edge pointing at him. He began to wiggle his head, trying to make it harder for Jason to kill him.

"Stop moving or I'll miss." Damian thrashed around, his knee hitting Jason in the centre of his back. Jason didn't even grunt at the impact and Damian's eyes widened even more. Before he could shout out, Jason brought the knife down. Damian closed his eyes and tensed up. He heard the knife go through the wood plane and dared to open his eyes. He didn't feel any pain and he could still see Red Hood above him, see his own reflection in the helmet. See a reflection that didn't have a knife in its forehead. He turned and saw the knife stuck in the floor, his hood pinned to the ground.

"Wha-? Why didn't you..?" Jason ripped Robin's hood off and threw it behind him. He stilled as he finally got a good look at the boy, the shadow of the hood no longer hiding his face. Before Damian could do anything, Jason peeled off the green mask covering his eyes. Unlike all his other actions, this one was careful and gentle, as if he didn't want to hurt him. It confused the boy. Jason delicately took the mask off, being careful of the costume glue that kept it on. He moved slowly as if he knew what he was going to see but dreading it anyway. He breathed as he saw the tanned boy unmasked, green eyes glaring at him.

"Dami?" Damian tensed, shocked that Jason knew his name. He was positive that Bruce hadn't introduced him to Jason or that anyone had told Jason about him. Jason hadn't been in the cave either, so he couldn't have found Damian's file. The only time Jason had met him was as Robin, so how did he know his identity? Before he could ask, Batman appeared at the door.

"Robin!! Get off of him Jason!" He threw three batarangs at Hood. Jason moved his body out of the way instead of deflecting them with his arms, letting the third one scrape past his helmet and take the paint off.

"Don't worry B, I wasn't going to kill him... I think." Jason reached towards his belt and Batman threw more batarangs at him, not wanting Jason to grab his gun and start firing at him or Damian. But Jason didn't reach for his gun or any other weapon. Instead, he grabbed a few smoke bombs and smashed them onto the floor, the cloud hiding his escape. Batman ran into the smoke, a reckless action but he was too worried about his son to care about poison in the smoke. He shook his cape back and forth, dispelling the smoke and crouched next to his injured son.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes. Broken collar bone and nose. Sprained ankle, cracked ribs gah and most likely a concussion. Oh and a lot of bruising to my face, neck, chest and back." Damian listed his injuries. Batman picked him up, cradling in his arms as he began to walk back to the Batmobile.

"Alfred, prepare the medical kit, Damian's been injured. Pretty badly."

"Of course sir. Is Master Damian's life in danger?"

"No, but he's injured all over."

"I will hurry and get the things required then."

* * *

Damian passed out before he reached the cave. Bruce picked him up and hurriedly carried him to the medical area. Dick and Tim were there as well, concern on both of their faces.

"Is he okay?" Tim asked, worried for the boy who had tried to kill him before. Bruce placed him on the bed and stepped back, allowing Alfred to take charge.

"No critical injuries, a few breaks and a lot of bruising."

"Who did this to him?" Dick asked as he moved closer to Damian. He was a brat, but Damian was his brother, his Robin when Bruce was thought to be dead and he had been Batman. Dick cared for the young male.

"Jason did."

"What!? Why would he do that?" The bats stirred at Dick's loudness.

"Where is he? Did you take him down?" Tim asked, his voice quieter than Dick's.

"He ran away before I could get to him. Damian was my priority." Dick's glared at the ground, hand curled into fists.

"It seems Master Jason has had another fit of madness. Although, it has been awhile since the last one. Maybe Mister Damian said something to bring it on." They all noted that fact he had called Damian 'Mister', a way of showing that he did not think of Damian as a close friend.

"You're only saying that because you loved Jason. He was your favourite," Dick argued.

"Master Richard! I do not have favourites."

"But you prefer Jason. Especially over Damian. You and Jason would read all the time," Tim pointed out.

"Mister Damian may have treated me badly at the start but we all know he has quite an ego and little control over his anger. I am merely suggesting a reason as to why Master Jason hurt him but did not give him any injuries that were in critical places or were remotely life threatening." It shut them all up. They watched silently as he bandaged Damian up.

Oracle called the Batcave, her face appearing on the Batcomputer, expressing her concern and voicing Cass' worry over Damian's health. She apologised for not being able to track Jason down, a mission she had given to the Birds of Prey had taken up all her time. Stephanie also phoned in, patrolling Gotham whilst Batman was in the cave. Eventually, Alfred finished with Damian.

"I have done everything possible to help Damian. Rest and food are what he needs now." Bruce nodded and sat at the computer, beginning his search to find Jason. He transferred the footage that the cameras in Damian's mask filmed onto the computer and played it, watching the fight from Damian's point of view. They taunted each other, punching and hitting one another and when they got to the bit where Damian pushed Jason over the edge, he didn't need to look behind him to see the raised eyebrow on Alfred's face. The two other males quietened down after that.

"I'm going to hack the warehouse CCTV cameras and see if any cameras recorded their fight as well. Whilst that's happening I'll try and search for Jason's location."

"I can help if you want," Tim offered.

"No, go help Batgirl and Black Bat on patrol. People are going to catch on quickly that Batman isn't around." Tim looked like he wanted to protest but he knew that two vigilantes weren't enough on patrol. He got onto his bike and whizzed off to help the girls. Dick remained for a short while, stroking Damian's hair before he too slipped out of the cave. Bruce paused the search for Jason's location, knowing Dick would probably find him. Although weak, Dick still had a stronger connection to Jason than he did. He had severed any ties towards Jason the night Jason had made him pick between him and the Joker and he had picked the Clown.

* * *

Jason was smoking on a rooftop when Dick found him. His red helmet sat by his side as he sucked on the cigarette, a domino mask concealing his eyes. Dick had assumed that Jason had stopped smoking, not wanting smoke anywhere near him after the explosion. Obviously, Jason was really stressed out if he needed a smoke. Or several, judging by the number of stubs around him. Dick felt his pity disappear when he remembered he was the one who had hurt Damian.

"Can I sit down?" He asked, tentatively walking over to him. Jason could change moods in a split second, the wrong words putting him into a violent rage. The fight earlier today just proved that.

"Ain't my roof. Do wha'ever the hell you wan'." Jason's accent slipped back into his speech, a sign he was feeling an extreme emotion such as stress or anger. Dick made sure to tread carefully around him. He sat own next to him, his feet swinging over the roof. Jason stubbed out the cigarette, knowing Dick hated the smell of cigarette smoke. It made Dick feel hopeful, maybe he wasn't in such a bad mood.

"Jay?" He whispered.

"What?" Jason asked gruffly.

"Take your mask off please." Jason turned to look at Dick. He ran his tongue over his front teeth, thinking. He sighed and relented in the end, reaching up and ripping the mask off. Dick gasped and flinched at his rough handling, eyes widening. Jason's skin stung and tingled as he ripped it off, the glue keeping it firmly on and resisting for a few brief seconds. He scraped his fingernails over the glue that was stuck on his face, peeling the rest of it off.

"Jay! You're not supposed-" Dick exclaimed. His voice died as he saw Jason's eyes. They weren't blue, hadn't been since he came back from the dead, but they weren't the normal dark green that he had begun to get used to. They were a bright, neon green, similar to the Lazarus Pit's shade of colour. Jason's lips turned up into a crazy smile, a deranged look appearing in his eyes. Dick's breath hitched as he looked as his little brother, a mad man in his place. Where had the fun, loving boy gone? The only thing positive he could find was the fact that the white of his eyes were still their natural colour and didn't have a greenish tint to them. The Pit's madness wasn't affecting him too much.

"Sorry Dickie-bird, guess I'm too crazy for you to save." The man next to him was beginning to look and act more like Joker and it scared Dick, more than Scarecrow's Fear Toxin ever could.

"That's not true. I want to help, we all want to help Jason. Let us in," Dick pleaded to the taller male.

"You can't," Jason turned to look at the city stretched out in front of them. "The crazy's already inside. And it ain't never gunna leave."

"Jay, that's not true-"

"You here for Dami?"

"Wha-?... How do you know his name?" Dick looked surprised and alarmed. Jason turned to smile at him then interlocked his fingers and placed his lips on them, staring at Gotham but not seeing it.

"Jason, talk to me."

"There's nothing to say. I just beat up a ten year old boy."

"How do you know his age?"

"Same reason I know that he doesn't like sweets. He prefers fruit salads for dessert, the more exotic the better. He's more comfortable fighting with a sword but doesn't mind fighting with small blades. He doesn't like throwing stars and other throwing weapons as they're easier to block or deflect. He knows seventeen different martial arts and pretends his favourite book is Pride and Prejudice but he likes Wuthering Heights more. And Frankenstein's Monster. He loves animals, they calm him down. They can't judge him and love him even after everything he's done. He can't really decide between cats and dogs, but he likes cats slightly more. Their grace and agility are what draws him to them."

"H-how do you know this? I don't know those things and I worked with him for months. He's opened up the most to me and even then it's almost nothing." Another thought occurred to Dick. "Why were you two fighting if you're close?"

"I didn't know it was him. God it's a stupid excuse but the hood and mask hid his face from me," Jason looked guilty, barring his teeth and curling his fingers into tight fists. He shoved them into his eyes hard enough for Dick to wince at. "He's grown so much, changed so much. I thought... I promised I'll always remember him but... I didn't even recognise him." Jason slammed his fist into the brick ledge he was sitting on, not even feeling the pain. "I'm an awful brother." Before Dick could ask what he meant by that, Jason was already standing up, grabbing his helmet and running to the end of the roof. By the time Dick had leapt up to follow him, Jason had swung off the roof. Dick watched him swing away, not bothering to follow him. It would just end in conflict.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to say a big thank you to all who have commented on this story, reading them has made my day. Often I can't reply because all I can think of is 'asdfghjkl', I've replied to some but I'm not sure who I have and haven't replied (AO3 has a harder format than other sites) so thank all of you who have commented or left kudos.


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